This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.
What’s your National League East standings prediction?
Utah has been the talk of the league because its latest tanking strategy was both blatant and seemed to find a loophole in the league's system. Utah's two biggest stars — Lauri Markkanen and the just-acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. — qualify as stars under the league's Player Participation Policy. So, the Jazz made sure they participated — the stars played 25 minutes in the first three quarters of games against the Magic and Heat, and in both games the Jazz built up a lead. Then they benched the stars the entire fourth, no matter what happened (Utah blew the lead to Orlando, held on against Miami).
The NBA was not amused and on Thursday fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 for "conduct detrimental to the league."
The NBA also fined the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for "violating the Player Participation Policy in connection with the team's game against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3." Indiana sat star Pascal Siakam for that game, but the league determined he was healthy enough to play.
"Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct."
Jazz owner Ryan Smith disagreed.
agree to disagree … Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense … https://t.co/sHQrggB2Xa
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) February 13, 2026
We won't exactly see this again because Utah’s Jackson is now out, likely for the rest of the season, following knee surgery.
With 10 teams — a full one-third of the league — actively trying to lose games for the rest of the season, heading into what is considered one of the best and deepest drafts of the last couple of decades, tanking has become THE story around the NBA. While Utah and Indiana were fined, plenty of other teams are tanking but can dodge the league's official ire because they don't have any players who meet the league's criteria for a "star player" (an All-Star or a league award winner in the past three years).
The NBA's problem is that there is no good answer. The fact of the matter is that landing the No. 1 pick (or a high pick) can completely change a franchise's fortunes (Cooper Flagg in Dallas, Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio, Cade Cunningham in Detroit, Anthony Edwards in Minnesota, and those are just recent examples). Taking short-term losses to increase the odds of a better lottery pick and potentially landing a player like that is worth it.
Expect the league to take some small measures this offseason. The most likely option is to limit draft pick protections to only 1-4 or the lottery, because this season both Utah and Washington are incentivised to tank because they have top-eight protected picks.
But that doesn't get at the core problem of incentivising teams to lose because of the potential of what a top pick can mean (even if the NBA Draft Lottery odds are flattened). While there are suggestions that would completely remove those incentives (all lottery teams have the same odds, or a pre-set cycle of when and where teams draft, commonly referred to as "the wheel) that strips hope from the fan bases of struggling teams. The league and United States sports fans in general like the idea of parity and giving the worst teams a chance if they are well managed and coached, and these systems remove that.
For now, the Jazz and Pacers are paying out of pocket for getting caught at what a third of the league is doing.
Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA sent a forceful message on Thursday about tanking, hitting the Utah Jazz with a $500,000 fine and handing the Indiana Pacers a $100,000 fine for recent game management and roster decisions, the league announced.
Utah's fine was related to a Feb. 7 game against the Orlando Magic and Feb. 9 game against the Miami Heat.
"During those games, the Jazz removed two of the team's top players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., before the beginning of the fourth quarter and did not return them to the game, even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt," the NBA said.
Utah entered the fourth quarter of its Feb. 7 game with a 94-87 lead but scored just 23 points in the final frame and lost 120-117. It won the game against Miami, 115-111, and won Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings to move to 18-37 on the season, third-worst in the West.
The Pacers, the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference at 15-40, were found to be in violation of the Player Participation Policy for a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz, per the league statement.
"Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that Pascal Siakam, a star player under the Policy, and two other Pacers starters, neither of whom participated in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the team could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy," the NBA said.
The Pacers lost that game to the Jazz, 131-122.
The league's statement on the fines was capped by a strong message directly from Silver.
"Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games," Silver said. "Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA tanking statement made with fines for Jazz, Pacers
TAMPA — The Yankees are adding a recognizable name to their bullpen competition this spring.
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Try it freeThe club agreed to a minor league deal with Rafael Montero, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed Thursday night, and invited him to big league spring training to see if the veteran righty can win a job.
Montero would earn $1.85 million if he makes the team, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.
The 35-year-old Montero, once a ballyhooed Mets prospect, pitched to a 4.48 ERA across 59 games last season with the Astros, Braves and Tigers, striking out 58 but walking 37 in 60 ¹/₃ innings.
He is four years removed from the best season of his career, when he posted a 2.37 ERA for the Astros on the way to a World Series championship in 2022.
Montero will join a group competing for the last few spots in the Yankees bullpen following an offseason in which the team lost Devin Williams and Luke Weaver and did not replace them with established arms.
David Bednar, Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill are locks for the bullpen, with Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn likely to join them if the rotation stays healthy.
The Yankees are also counting on a bounce-back season from Jake Bird and then are hoping for a few legitimate choices to emerge from a group that includes Brent Headrick, Cade Winquest, Yerry De los Santos, Angel Chivilli, Kervin Castro and now Montero.
“I think it has a chance to be [a strength],” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday. “I think it’s because of our overall pitching depth that I really like. So that may mean a starter having to collapse and maybe somebody that nobody’s writing about at this point that usually, especially in bullpens, seems to always emerge around the league. The bullpen is usually one of the most volatile things that’s hard to predict sometimes.
“There were some big numbers [salaries] attached to relievers this winter, so we obviously had to address different things. You try to allocate your resources the best you can.”
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yarden Garzon led with 19 points, four other Terrapins scored in double figures, and No. 20 Maryland took down Penn State 81-62 on Thursday night.
Oluchi Okananwa (15 points), Addi Mack (13), Saylor Poffenbarger (10), and Mir McLean (10) each chipped in for the Terrapins (20-6, 8-6 Big Ten), who won their third straight game.
Poffenbarger hauled in 11 rebounds and had five assists in her third double-double of the season, and Okananwa dished six assists and tied her career-high with six steals.
Maryland led 38-34 at the half, shooting 46% fro the field but just 17% from beyond the arc. An 11-0 run early in the third quarter put them up double figures, and the Terrapins opened the fourth with a 13-3 run that put the game out of reach.
Kiyomi McMiller racked up 30 points on 12-of-26 shooting for the Lady Lions (8-17, 1-13), her third straight game with 30 or more points.
Maryland joins No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Ohio State, and No. 13 Michigan State as 20-win teams in the Big Ten.
Penn State hosts Northwestern on Sunday.
No. 20 Maryland visits No. 8 Ohio State on Sunday.
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WACO, Texas (AP) — Olivia Miles poured in career highs with 40 points and 10 3-pointers to lead No. 17 TCU 83-67 over No. 12 Baylor on Thursday.
Miles scored 10 points in the first half before an outrageous, 23-point third quarter in which she went 7 of 9 from behind the arc, and accounted for all but two of the Horned Frogs' 25 points.
She turned a four-point halftime lead into a 13-point advantage by the end of the third, scoring the most points in a single quarter by any Division-I player since Caitlin Clark on Feb. 15, 2024.
Miles is also the first Division-I player in the last 25 years to make 10 3-pointers on the road against a ranked opponent, per ESPN.
She hit her 10th 3-pointer with 5:31 left in the fourth quarter. It's her second-straight game with 31 or more, in a season in which she's never scored fewer than 12 points in a game.
Marta Suarez also added 27 points to go with six rebounds for the Horned Frogs (22-4, 10-3 Big 12).
Taliah Scott led the Bears (21-5, 10-3) with 22 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and crossed the 1,000-point threshold for her career. Jana Van Gytenbeek had 14 points to go with six assists. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 14 to go with five rebounds and two blocks.
TCU will host No. 19 West Virginia on Sunday.
Baylor hits the road to face UCF on Sunday. ___
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The Yankees are inviting another reliever to spring training.
New York has signed right-handed pitcher Rafael Montero to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, according to multiple reports. If he makes the club, Montero will earn $1.8 million, according to insider Hector Gomez.
Montero, 35, is coming off an up-and-down season with the Astros, Braves and Tigers. Although the right-hander pitched to a 4.50 ERA in three appearances in Houston and a 5.50 ERA with Atlanta across 36 appearances after being traded, he turned things around in the Motor City after being dealt again, pitching to a 2.86 ERA in 20 appearances with the Tigers.
In 10 career seasons, Montero is 23-30 with 30 saves, a 4.68 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP across 380 appearances. He was on the Astros' World Series-winning team in 2022, pitching to a 1.93 ERA across 10 appearances in that postseason.
With the departures of Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, the Yankees are looking to retool the bullpen. Aside from closer David Bednar, and relievers Camilo Doval, Tim Hill and Fernando Cruz, there are spots open to those who can win a job this spring.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Asia Boone and Tonie Morgan each scored 19 points and Clara Strack posted a double-double as No. 18 Kentucky breezed past Texas A&M 75-55 on Thursday night.
Boone was 5-of-11 shooting, with four made 3-pointers, and Morgan added eight assists. Strack had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for the Wildcats (19-7, 6-6 Southeastern Conference).
Strack continued her double-double average at 16 points and 10.5 rebounds per game heading into the contest. She has 13 double-doubles on the year after entering tied for the 14th-most double-doubles in the country.
The Wildcats opened the game on a 16-0 run to build a commanding 27-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Boone had eight points in the quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers during the opening run.
It was 38-18 at the half, and the Aggies never got closer than a 17-point deficit after that.
The Aggies (10-10, 2-9) have lost four consecutive games on the road.
They were led by Ny’Ceara Pryor, who had 21 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Janae Kent added 13 points, and Fatmata Janneh added 10 and eight rebounds.
Kentucky will host No. 14 Ole Miss on Sunday.
Texas A&M hosts Auburn on Sunday. ___
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. –– Dave Roberts has had a lot of great teams during his tenure as Dodgers manager.
But his 2026 squad, he believes, is “probably the best team we’ve had on paper.”
There’s plenty of premium talent, of course, from returning stars including Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, to this offseason’s blockbuster additions of Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz.
There’s also ample depth, from longtime veterans in Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman, to younger options including Andy Pages, Roki Sasaki, Hyeseong Kim and a crop of other talented pitchers returning from injury.
Yet, as Roberts spoke at a Cactus League media day event Thursday, on the eve of his team’s first workout of spring training at Camelback Ranch, there was another, more intangible dynamic bolstering his belief in this year’s team.
“Knowing we have a target (on our backs) –– as we should if we’re the defending champions –– but to still focus on yourselves and what’s forward, that’s what our guys do a good job of,” Roberts said. “It’s easy to say, to not concern yourselves with people that are trying to knock you off the hill or whatever analogy. But it’s harder to do in practice.”
Indeed, for all the money they’ve spent and talent they’ve accrued in recent years, the Dodgers have been steadfast about how their behind-the-scenes culture has buttressed their on-field success.
Players, coaches and executives have all pointed to the team’s clubhouse chemistry as the bedrock to their back-to-back World Series championships.
Even with the influx of new faces, the consistency of their core has served as a stabilizing foundation.
To that end, the Dodgers made some long-anticipated moves in the final days of their offseason this week, locking down some familiar faces in order to keep the gang together.
On Wednesday, the club re-signed veteran reliever Evan Phillips to a $6.5 million deal, ensuring he will stay with the organization after being non-tendered earlier this winter (as a way to preserve space on the team’s 40-man roster).
On Thursday morning, a $10 million contract extension was struck with Muncy, one that will keep what is now the franchise’s longest-tenured player in the fold through 2027 (and potentially 2028 thanks to a $10 million club option).
And on Thursday afternoon, fan favorite and longtime veteran Kiké Hernández re-signed with the Dodgers on a $4 million contract, too, marking the third-straight winter he has returned to Los Angeles as a free agent.
“You know, Michael Jordan couldn’t do it without Scottie Pippen and the other guys on that team,” fellow veteran Miguel Rojas said at last month’s Fanfest event, speaking specifically of Hernández but delivering a message that applies to many around the clubhouse. “We’re all part of this, and we’ve all been part of this for the last couple years.”
Exactly how the team’s final winter moves will impact this upcoming season, of course, remains to be seen.
Muncy was already entrenched as the team’s starting third baseman for this year. And Phillips and Hernández are unlikely to play until “sometime in the summer,” Roberts said, with Phillips still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery and Hernández from an elbow procedure he had early this offseason.
But their presence, Roberts noted, is impactful –– making their returns an important tone-setter as camp gets underway.
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Consider: After Phillips was non-tendered at the start of the offseason, Roberts said the reliever “wanted to kind of see what was out there, which I respect; he earned that right.” And yet, he ultimately decided to return to the Dodgers, even if his eventual place in a beefed-up bullpen remains unclear.
“Evan understanding the value of whatever role we need him, it’s of importance,” Roberts said. “And to have that reinforced this year is huge.”
Hernández also faces an uncertain role this season, whenever he completes his surgical rehab. But that’s been the case for the utilityman over the past several seasons, when he has grinded through limited playing time in the regular season only to deliver when called upon in October.
“When it comes to crunch time,” Roberts said, “he’s gonna be counted on.”
Even Muncy’s extension served as a sign of the team’s priority on maintaining cohesion, proactively locking up a veteran who Roberts said goes “very under the radar in terms of what he’s done for us to win three championships.”
Put those moves together, and they represent one more reason Roberts and the Dodgers boast such confidence in this year’s team.
They have a huge payroll (now up to $409 million for luxury tax purposes). They have an almost endless supply of big-name players. And now, they enter the spring with a few fitting final roster moves, subtle additions that could nonetheless have profound impacts as well.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Janiah Barker scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Talaysia Cooper added 17 points and four steals, and No. 22 Tennessee rolled past Missouri 98-53 on Thursday night.
Barker shot 9 of 16 from the field and 2 for 5 from beyond the arc for the Lady Vols (16-6, 8-2 Southeastern Conference), who had lost three of their last four games.
Alyssa Latham added 15 points (7-for-10 shooting), Nya Robertson scored 14, and Deniya Prawl notched her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for Tennessee.
The Lady Vols took a double-digit lead just under eight minutes into the contest and stretched their advantage to 30 with a 9-0 run in the second quarter. They held a 53-22 lead at the half. Barker scored 16 points and shot 6 for 9 in the first half, and Latham added 10 points. Tennessee shot 55% as a team in the opening half and held Mizzou to 27%.
The Tigers (16-11, 4-8) were paced by Grace Slaughter's 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Shannon Dowell added 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Mizzou dropped their second straight contest after a three-game win streak.
Mizzou hosts Auburn on Feb. 19.
Tennessee hosts No. 4 Texas on Sunday.
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Lanie Grant scored 15 points, Indya Nivar added 14 and No. 21 North Carolina routed SMU 94-42 on Thursday night for its eighth straight victory.
Courtney Banghart secured her 400th career win to become one of 48 active coaches in Division I women’s basketball to reach the mark.
North Carolina jumped out to a 28-9 lead by the end of the first quarter after making 6 of 8 3-pointers, while SMU went 3-for-14 overall. Five different Tar Heel players made a 3-pointer in the first quarter, with Laila Hull going 2 for 2.
Then the Tar Heels went on a 14-0 run, with 3-pointers by Nyla Brooks and Taliyah Henderson, early in the second quarter for a 31-point lead. Hull made North Carolina's ninth 3-pointer of the first half — on just 12 attempts — for a 49-18 lead at the break.
North Carolina's lead did not drop below 31 points in the second half.
Henderson finished with 13 points and Hull had 11 for North Carolina (21-5, 10-3 ACC).
Zahra King led SMU (8-17, 1-12) with 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting. The Mustangs have lost six straight games.
The Tar Heels finished 12 of 26 from 3-point range, while SMU went 12 of 52 overall (23%).
SMU: Begins a three-game homestand on Sunday against Pittsburgh.
UNC: Goes down the road to play at No. 11 Duke on Sunday.
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Education Day is always an adventure. Whether it be on Long Island or elsewhere in the league. So far this season, every home team has won during Education Day, and the Delaware Blue Coats hoped to follow suit. Long Island had other plans as birthday boy Nate Williams scored 30 points, and E.J. Liddell had a massive double-double, which was able to lift the Nets past the Blue Coats, 123-107.
This game also marked the final game before the All-Star break for both teams. Both teams now have one week off, with two players from Delaware being selected for All-Star festivities in Los Angeles this weekend, and zero from Long Island. Could the All-Star break see players finally move around within the Brooklyn organization? The parent club has an opening caused by some imbalance in their deadline day moves. The Nets dumped three players while adding two, leaving them with an opening on the big club’s roster.
So far, no movement on filling that gap, nor even confirmation that the missing piece could be found in the Nets G League roster. It’s very plausible that Liddell gets lifted to a standard deal, opening a two-way spot for a player like Williams or Grant Nelson. It’s all fungible.
Long Island was once again with all three of the Brooklyn two-way players, but had no players on assignment as the rookies stayed in Brooklyn. The only player who didn’t play in this one for the Nets was Dre Davis, which was a coach’s decision.
Long Island got off to a hot start and never looked back. After taking a 10-point lead into the second quarter, Long Island extended it to a nearly 20-point lead as halftime rolled around. The Nets never looked back in the second half either, as Williams, Liddell, and Grant Nelson went off in this one to secure the 16-point victory.
Nate Williams entered this one knowing he wanted to show up and show out on his 27th birthday which, spoiler alert, he did. Oftentimes, we may see a lot of changes in All-Star week which this year is in Los Angeles. This may players being called up, whether to a standard deal or a two-way deal, or players being sent down, or assigned to a hybrid status: playing for Long Island but on a regular G League contract, not a two way. For Williams, his play has cemented one thing: that he deserves a call-up, whether it be in Brooklyn or elsewhere.
The 6’6” wing is the player with the most NBA experience on the team, a total of 47 games over parts of three NBA seasons. So, while he’s a bit older than 23-year-old Grant Nelson or the slightly younger Chaney Johnson who’s on a two-way, Williams is the most experienced. The New York native (Rocheseter) separated himself head and shoulders from everyone else. Williams finished the game connecting on 12 of his 23 shots, for better than 50%, and went 3-of-9 from deep for a huge 30-point game.
Williams impressive day didn’t stop there. He hauled in seven rebounds, as well as picking up two assists.This was very much a statement game for Williams, as he is hoping to secure his spot back in the NBA.
E.J. Liddell, had another massive game. While his shooting output was small, eight shots taken, Liddell finished the game with 13 points. While this was far from Liddell’s biggest games, he played one of his most complete games vs. Delaware, the 76ers’ affiliate.
Liddell was a huge difference-maker under the basket, hauling in 12 rebounds. To cap off his impressive game, Liddell tallied two assists and one steal. Liddell has told ND that he strives to be the best regardless of where he’s playing. But one has to wonder if he was thinking of that coveted standard spot with Brooklyn.
From a player who had a double-double to one who very nearly had one, Grant Nelson looked unstoppable at times. While Nelson was very clearly still on a minutes restriction as he entered the All-Star break, his time on the court has been slowly creeping back up. The North Dakota native and Alabama product played the most minutes since being injured in this one, finishing Thursday’s game with 25.
Nelson is showing teams what he’s capable despite the restriction. He tallied 18 points, connecting on six of his 13 tries. He also hauled in a whopping nine rebounds. Nelson also had an assist and a steal to his credit. Nelson has been rumored as a two-way candidate since June when he passed on being taken in the second round of the draft in hopes of being signed by the Nets to a $600,000 deal. His injury slowed down that thinking, but as recently as last week he told ND that remained his goa.
Malachi Smith tallied 19 points in this one, which was good enough for second on the team. Smith continued to be Long Island’s most complete player, as he hauled in eight rebounds and tallied seven assists. He also had one steal to his credit and after two straight games of five turnovers shrunk that number to two on Thursday. The 6’4” combo guard could be a dark-horse candidate for any team’s two-way opening.
Tyson Etienne had a very uncharacteristic game putting one of his worst shooting performances yet, connecting on one of his 11 shots, including going one-for-10 from deep. Etienne finished with eight points, scoring six of them from the foul stripe. He also had four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
The third and final Brooklyn two-way player, Chaney Johnson, came off the bench. Johnson looked electric as he tallied 15 points, connecting on five of his six shots. He also had four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks for another very complete game. Lately, Johnson has been living up to his two-way hDelype.
Hunter Cattoor also contributed 12 points off the bench. Cattoor shot the ball well, connecting on three of his seven tries, all from outside the arc. While Terry Roberts had a goose egg in the scoring category, he hauled in eight rebounds and distributed three assists. Roberts also etched his name in the history books, becoming the third player in franchise history with 300 assists.
Final score: Long Island Nets 123, Delaware Blue Coats 107.
The Long Island Nets (13-9) now get to enjoy a week off before they return to the court on Thursday, February 19th, for a showdown with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans affiliate. The game tips off at 12:00 p.m. for a matinee showing and can be watched on the NBA G League site, as well as on the NBA app.
TAMPA — Yankees of any position are free to challenge pitches under the new Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) — for now.
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Try it freeFor the second straight spring, the Yankees will have Grapefruit League games to try out ABS, except this time it is going to be for real and in play once the regular season begins.
That has forced the Yankees to develop a strategy for how to best use the challenge system and take advantage of the two they get each game (they are retained if the challenge is successful).
“We’ll set that more in place when we get ready to break camp and then probably continue to evolve with it throughout the year,” manager Aaron Boone said Thursday afternoon after the club held a morning meeting for ABS education and strategy. “We’ve done a lot of work on it behind the scenes, a lot of meetings this winter going through it. I feel like, right now, we’re in a pretty good place with it as far as trying to continue to educate our players and understanding leverage and things like that.
“Everyone’s free to challenge right now. We’ll see how it continues to unfold.”
Over the winter, Boone had indicated he was leaning toward not allowing his pitchers to challenge calls — a strategy that seemed to be popular among managers at the winter meetings — because they tend to think anything borderline is a strike.
But as of Thursday, he had softened somewhat on that stance, at least at this point in the spring.
“I’m not at the point of not allowing pitchers [to challenge] — I am less comfortable,” Boone said. “Catcher probably No. 1 with who I’m the most comfortable with challenging. Then hitter, then pitcher, probably in that order.”
Max Fried is hoping to possibly gain some leeway this spring.
“I guess I’m going to have to really pay attention here in spring training, see if my eyes are as good as I think they are,” Fried said. “If I’m really good in spring, I might have a little more liberty of doing it in-game.”
Another rule change came down the chute Thursday when MLB owners voted to enforce the rule that first and third base coaches must remain in their boxes until a pitch is thrown.
That became an issue during a Yankees-Blue Jays series at Rogers Centre in 2023, when the Blue Jays got upset with Yankees coaches straying outside of their boxes, which could help them get a better angle to pick up tipped pitches and relay that to runners or hitters.
“It’s probably a good thing to regulate that,” Boone said Thursday. “We talked about that at the winter meetings in our managers meeting. … Overall, I think it’s probably a good thing, just for the competitiveness of the game.”
Luis Gil threw the equivalent of two innings in live batting practice Thursday, hitting 95 mph and striking out Aaron Judge while building up to about 35 pitches.
Luis Gil strikes out Aaron Judge.
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) February 12, 2026pic.twitter.com/itMEwuvFP3
“I think he’s had a really good winter as far as strength and conditioning-wise and getting himself in a good place, ready to come in,” Boone said. “That talent hasn’t gone away. He’s a young man that you can tell is very hungry right now and he wants to go out and prove that he’s that guy that he was in ’24.”
Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign is on thin ice after a shock 23-run group stage loss to Zimbabwe on Friday in Colombo.
According to Chris Haynes, Jaren Jackson Jr. is likely to miss the remainder of the season to have surgery on his left knee.
Haynes mentions that he is having the surgery to ensure his longterm health after a localized PVNS growth was discovered post trade.
So what’s a PVNS growth? It sounds like it’s a benign tumor that can grow over time and can cause problems if not taken care of at some point. Here’s a lot of information about it.
The other point of interest: did the Jazz know about this? Apparently, this popped up in the physical after the trade? Tony Jones provided more context with that.
Now, this is something you could quibble with. Was Markkanen and Nurkic injured when they rested during those fourth quarters too?
Regardless, it’s nice that Jazz fans got a chance to get a flavor of what this could be because it looked really good. Markkanen and Jackson look and play huge together and have a chance to be a dominant force starting next season.
Obviously, the internet jumped on the story and what seemed like a clear tanking move by the Jazz, but that feels disingenuous. Do we really think a player would go through a literal surgery for a tank to happen? Does it coincide nicely with what is best for the Jazz long-term? Absolutely, and no doubt the Jazz were likely happy to let him make a decision for surgery that he might not have had the right opportunity to make it happen. This is a great opportunity to do an optional surgery, and it will help him stay healthier long-term
On Zach Lowe’s podcast, he mentioned that the door isn’t shut on him returning, but it’s very possible this is the last we’ll see of Jaren Jackson Jr. this season.
